United States First Circuit

In a criminal prosecution of adult defendant for taking sexually explicit photographs of a minor with whom he had a legal and consensual sexual relationship, conviction and sentence for possession of child pornography and exploiting a minor for the purpose of producing photographs is affirmed where: 1) despite defendant's claims that his purpose for taking those photographs was to memorialize his intimate relationship rather than to make pictures for displaying to others, the criminal statutory language requires only that a visual depiction be made, even for private use; 2) although excluding depicted minor's testimony as to facts bearing directly on specific statutory element of defendant's offense was arguably erroneous, the issue was not raised on appeal; 3) defendant's plea colloquy confirming his knowing possession of child pornography was relevant and its admission was not unduly prejudicial; and 4) defendant did not establish why a lower sentence was justifiable or why it matters in light of a concurrently running longer sentence.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/20/2008
• Published 05/20/2008

Judges

• BOUDIN, Chief Judge., Before BOUDIN, Chief Judge, SELYA, Senior Circuit Judge, and KEENAN, Senior District Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Héctor Ramos-Vega with whom Joseph C. Laws, Jr., Federal Public Defender, and Patricia A. Garrity, Assistant Federal Public Defender, were on brief for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Nelson Pérez-Sosa, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief, Appellate Division, with whom Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney, was on brief for appellee.